Cutter mechanism



July 15, 1958 F. s. YOUNG CUTTER MECHANISM 4 $heets-Sheet 1 Filed March1, 1956 mmvrom I. 5'. YEUN BY WM 0.

July 15, 1958 F. s. YOUNG CUTTER MECHANISM 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March1, 1956 INVENTOR: I? 5. YUUNE.

July 15, 1958 F. s. YOUNG CUTTER MECHANISM 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed; March1, 1956 INVENTOR: .F 5. YJUNE.

July 15, 1958 s, YOUNG 2,843,203

CUTTER MECHANISM Filed March 1, 1956 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 IN VEN TOR: Y0 UNEWJJUQPPM,

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United States Patent CUTTER MECHANISM Frederick S. Young, Toledo, OhioApplication March 1, 1956, Serial No. 568,874

I 4 Claims. Cl. 164-57) This invention relates to paper cutters such asare used to trim edges of paper pads, books, periodicals, and similaritems which require smooth and uniform edges. More particularly itrelates to paper cutters which have a single knife edge blade and clampassociated therewith, and which are provided with a handle for manuallyforcing the blade through the paper, while the paper is held firmlyagainst undesired movement by a clamping pressure applied thereto.

Cutters of this general type have heretofore been massively constructedand highly priced; when installed in a shop they were practicallyimmovable due to their great relative weight. The cutting operationrequired considerable force and .was consequently very tiring to a user.

An object of this invention is to produce an efficient, simple,economical paper cutter, which is readily portable for use in the usualoffice.

Another object is to produce a paper cutter having a novel toggle actionfor operation of the knife.

A further object is to provide a simply constructed device of this type.

A still further object is to provide an escapement mechanism in thehandle assembly so that fatigue of the user will be reduced.

A still further object is to provide a clamping mechanism for the paperwhich will be positive in operation even though eccentrically loaded.

A still further object is to provide accurate and quickly adjustablestops for setting the sizes to which paper may be cut.

It is also an object to provide simple and effective means for adjustingthe knife blade into full length contact with the cutting board at theend of thestroke, when or after the blade has been ground forsharpening.

The objects here enumerated constitute the main parts of the inventionand include a cutting table, a gauge or stop for positioning the paperto be cut, a clamp for holding thepaper, a knife blade to sever theunwanted parts of the paper from the main body, and a handle mechanismfor operating the knife.

The above mentioned and other features and objects of the invention willbe best understood by reference to the following description of anembodiment of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings wherein,

Figure l is a perspective view of the mechanism taken toward the loadingend;

.Figure 2 is .a perspective view taken toward the cutting end, withcertain parts shown in phantom lines;

Figure 3 is a plan view of a portion of the mechanism, parts beingbroken away;

Figure 4 is an enlarged cross sectional view on the line 4-4 of Figure 3showing the clamping mechanism;

Figure 5 is a plan view partly in section of the gauge or stopmechanism;

Figure 6 is an elevational view of the cutter mech- 2,843,203 PatentedJuly 15, 1953 anism with certain parts in cross section, and certainparts broken away;

Figure 7 is an enlarged sectional view taken on line 7-7 of Figure 6showing adjustment for blade takeup;

Figure 8 is an enlarged sectional view on line 8--8 of Figure 6.

Figure 9 is an enlarged sectional view taken on line 9-9 of Figure 6;

Figure 10 is detail view of the escapement mechanism used in operatingthe cutter with certain parts broken away;

Figure 11 is an elevational view taken towards the rear edges of theparts shown in Figure 10;

Figure 12 is detail view of one of the parts of the escapementmechanism; and

Figure 13 is a cross sectional view taken on line 13-13 of Figure 10, toshow the relationship of some of the parts of Figure 10.

In referring to Figures 1 and 2, 15 represents the table top which formsthe body of the structure, said body having reinforcing or stabilizingmembers 16, 16' beneath the same, for strengthening the table top andother obvious reasons.

Towards the right hand end of Figure 1 is located a pair of uprights 17and 18 which are attached at their lower extremities to the members 16and 16' while their upper extremities are connected by a tie bar 19 toform a. rigid structure and support for the clamping and cuttingmechanism.

The clamping mechanism 20 comprises a cross shaft 21 supported andjournalled in the uprights 17 and 18, one end of the shaft beingextended rearwardly to receive a worm gear 22 (Figure 4) adapted to bedriven by a worm 23 carried by a vertical shaft 24 for purposeshereinafter explained. A hand wheel 25 fixed to the shaft 24 facilitatesrotation of the shaft 24 The shaft 21 carries a pair of pinion gears 26and 26' which mesh with mating teeth on the rack bars 27. The rack bars27 are secured to a webbed cross member or clamp device 28, which has afoot 28' adapted to lie above the table and substantially parallelthereto for the purpose of holding a pile of paper 29 solidly andrigidly during a cutting or trimming operation. Furthermore the clampshould have a positive clamping action very close to the cutting edge ofthe knife as at 30. With this dual rack and pinion construction, a batchof paper to be cut may be placed either to the front or rear portion ofthe table as desired without causing undue strain or biased loadingeither on the table or on the knife. A stop plate 31 is provided tolimit the upward travel of the clamp.

Along one edge of the table 15 is an upright bar or track 32 on which ismounted a combined backing and discharge device 34, and an adjustablestop device 36, for the purpose of enabling an operator to cut or trimvarying sizes of stock to a uniform predetermined size. For this purposea scale or calibrated measuring strip 38 is provided to facilitate suchsettings, the scale being fixed to the outer side of the bar 32 in amanner to indicate the distance of the stop 36 from the knife.

It will be observed that the backing device 34 has a vertical plate 34awhich is disposed at right angle to the table 15 and rigid with theupper edge of the plate 340! is a generally triangular plate 3412, theend portion of which is bent downwardly to form a track-overlappingflange 34c. Rigid with. and depending from the underside of thetriangular plate 34b is a flange 34c parallel with the flange 34c anddisposed on the inside of the track 32. The forward portion of thebacking device 34 fits the track fairly snugly but there issubstantially greater spacing between the remainder of the device andthe track. This latter spacing may be adjusted by a set screw 34 in therear portion of the inner flange 34e.

The stop 36 may be slid along the upper edge of the track 32 andcalibrated strip 38 and secured in position by a set screw 36a. A foreand aft adjusting screw 36b engages the rear of the backing device 34 asshown on Figure 5. a

The above described structure enables the paper pile to be quickly andaccurately positioned relative to the cutter. After the pile or stackhas been cut, the device 34 may be conveniently advanced away from thestop device 36 to push the severed increment from the table. Thisforward movement is achieved preferably by grasping the central portionof the triangular plate 34b to obviate a cramping action with the track32. Reverse or backward movement against the stop 36 is effected easilyby a straight sliding motion. Thus the device 34 not only accuratelypositions the pile to be severed or cut but also serves as a dischargedevice for the severed section.

The cutoff mechanism comprises a transversely arranged knife blade 40having a keen ground edge 41. One end of the knife 40 is supported by alink 42 having a journalled pin connection therewith as at 43. The link42 is dependently mounted for swinging action on the tie bar 19. Aneccentrically formed bolt 44 is provided to compensate for varyingwidths of knife bars. As a knife is ground to maintain suflieientsharpness, the edge gradually rises as at 41'. The bolt 44 may then berotated about its shank 44, thus shifting the center of support of thelink 42, and permitting the knife edge to shift to its proper positionwhile cutting. Shims 57 (Figure 3) may be provided if necessary tocompensate for varying thicknesses of knives, their purpose being toassist in fitting up the space within the uprights 1'7, 18 for smootheasy movement of the knife therein.

The opposite end of the knife is supported on one end of a crank arm 46by a stub shaft 47. The crank arm 46 is given an intermittent or steppedmotion by a novel escapement mechanism now to be described.

Referring to Figures 9 to 13, the other end of the crank arm 46 is fixedto a shaft 48 by means of a pin 49. Shaft 48 is rotatably supported byupright 18. A ratchet wheel 50 is secured by a key 49 to the shaft 48 atthe end opposite the crank arm 46, so that these parts 46, 48 and 50 maymove in unison. The knife blade 40 is guided in its vertical movementsby channel elements forming parts of the uprights 1'7 and 18.

As it requires approximately 90 of rotation of the crank arm 46 to movethe knife blade through its cutting stroke, the ratchet wheel likewiserequires approximately 90 spread of its ratchet teeth.

A lever handle 51 is provided to actuate the ratchet wheel 50, andconsists of a transverse bar 52 having fixed thereto at its inner end apair of side plates 53 terminating in disk-like ends which straddle theratchet wheel 50 and a cam plate 54. As shown in Figure 12 the cam plate54 is a flat disk-like member, the uniformly curved periphery of whichhas a relieved portion 54 which allows a pawl 55 to drop into a tooth ofthe ratchet wheel 50. Normally the pawl 55 rides over the outerperipheral edge portion of the cam plate so that it is allowed to engageteeth of the ratchet wheel only when it encounters the relieved portion54. The pawl 55 is pivoted between the side plates 53 and is tensionedby a coil spring 55. As the handle 51 is rocked downwardly during acutting stroke toward the dotted line position 51 in Figure 10, the pawlwill be held away from the ratchet wheel 50 until the relieved portion54' is reached on the cam plate 54. At this time the pawl enters thewheel and advances the knife from position to A (Figure 6). The handleis then raised to engage another tooth and when lowered the knife willbe advanced to position B (Figure 6). Upon another up and downmanipulation of the handle, the knife will be advanced to the position Cor final 4 contact with a cutting board 56 mounted in the surface of thetable 15.

Thus it will be seen that by proper adjustment of the eccentric bolt 44,in accordance with the amount of sharpening of the blade, complete fulllength contact of the cutting edge 41 with the cutting board 56 may beobtained.

In order to bring the handle 51 to a convenient height for any user, anadjustment 58 has been provided. The cam plate 54 is provided with anextension 59 having holes 69 for selective positioning of the pawl 55. Abracket 61 is mounted on the reinforcing member 16' for this purpose. Asshown in Figure 10, a bolt 62 is used to position the cam in a centralposition with regard to the series of holes 60. To raise or lower theworking range of the handle 51 for most etficient operation, the cam 54may be shifted to one or another of the holes 60 by means of the bolt62.

By observing Figure 6, it will be seen that the cutting action of theknife describes not a straight vertical drop but a combination ofsideward or downward motion of varying speed and distance, asillustrated by the lines 0, A, B, and C. Thus the cut is begun with ahorizontal, then changing to inclined positions and finally reverting tohorizontal.

The knife is then returned to its upper position with one single upwardmotion of the handle as shown in Figure 10. For this purpose, atransverse pin 63 carried by the plates 53, engages another pin 64 fixedin the ratchet wheel 5%. As the handle 51 is lifted to the full lineposition of Figure 10, the ratchet wheel 50 is swung clockwise byengagement of the pins 63 with the pin 64, thereby abruptly raising theknife blade 4'!) completely preparatory to the next cutting operation.

From the above description it will be manifest that I have produced anexceedingly simple cutting mechanism by which a relatively thick pile orstack of paper or the like can be quickly cut into predeterminedsections or trimmed with the exertion of a minimum of energy. The stepby step motion of the knife blade caused by repeated rocking of theoperating handle achieves a remarkably quick and positive cut which canbe performed by anyone without studied know-how. The backer-ejectordevice enables the severed portion to be quickly shoved away and thepaper pile can be returned to the adjustable stop without resetting.This coupled with the abrupt raising of the knife expedites the work.

Numerous changes in details of construction, arrangement and operationmay be effected without departing from the spirit of the invention,especially as defined in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. In a cutter mechanism for a stack of paper or the like comprising aframe having a flat bed, uprights secured to said frame and arranged onopposite sides of said bed, vertical channels in said uprightsrespectively, a knife disposed transversely of said bed and guided bysaid channels in its vertical movement, a tie bar connecting the upperend portions of said uprights, means suspending the knife from the tiebar, a crank arm, means connecting one end of the crank arm to theknife, a shaft fixed to the other end of said crank arm, means rotatablysupporting said shaft in one of said uprights, a ratchet wheel securedto said shaft, a lever handle for actuating said ratchet wheel, sideplate means carried by said handle and disposed adjacent said ratchetwheel and rockable upon said shaft, a stationary cam plate upon saidshaft, said cam plate having a uniformly curved periphery except for arelieved portion, said relieved portion being of less diameter than theroot diameter of the ratchet wheel, a spring tensioned pawl carried bysaid side plate means for operative engagement with said ratchet wheelonly upon encountering the relieved portion of said cam disc, said pawlbeing disposed to ride over the periphery of said cam plate, wherebystep by step cutting action is imparted to the knife by up and downmovement of the lever handle, and means actuated by the side plate meansand cooperating with means on said ratchet wheel for abruptly raisingthe knife by a single rocking movement of the lever handle to an extremeposition.

2. The organization as claimed in claim 1, the means suspending theknife from the tie bar comprising a link pivoted to the knife, and anadjustable eccentric bolt pivotally connecting the link to the tie barthereby to compensate for varying widths of knife bars.

3. The organization as claimed in claim 1 in which the abrupt raisingmeans for the knife comprises cooperating stop members on the side platemeans and the ratchet Wheel engageable upon predetermined rockingmovement of the lever handle.

4. The organization as claimed in claim 1 comprising handle heightadjusting means including an extension on said cam plate, a support, andselective means for attaching said extension to said support thereby torotatively adjust the position of said cam plate.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTSCampbell May 30, Dexter Dec. 4, Knott Dec. 7, Allan Apr. 30, EdwardsJuly 14, Soderberg Jan. 1, Johnson Nov. 23, Seybold Aug. 16, Kerner Mar.27, Webster Jan. 25, Mission Mar. 4, Linder Aug. 25, Barney June 15,Lazar Apr. 5,

